Package Deal
by GrellSutcliffeTheRipper
Summary: Haruhi never expected to find love when she wandered into the abandoned music room. More than that, she didn't expect him to try and set him up with his brother over and over. Why couldn't love be that little bit simpler?


My heart was thundering away in my chest as I waited for Kaoru to meet me in the town centre. The hustle and bustle as the market came into full swing was hardly able to distract me from the butterflies in my stomach. A date with the Hitachiin brother - if you could call it that - was something that many girls at Ouran would fantasise over and I was no exception admittedly. I had even worn a dress. Oh god, I felt like a swooning schoolgirl.

When he had apologised to Arai in his brother's place the day before, I could hardly believe he would go to such trouble to smooth things over with my old friend. Even if Hikaru had apologised I wouldn't have been less angry with him in that moment. Immaturity was one thing, but then there was being a straight up asshole for no reason. Then to smile at me so earnestly and ask that I go on a date with him, it baffled me. But I couldn't have been happier.

A familar mop of amber hair appeared in my peripheral vision and I swung round to greet him. "Hey Kao- wait, what are you doing here, Hikaru?"

"Well, Kaoru said he wasn't feeling well so he sent me in his place," he scratched awkwardly at the back of his head. His quiet words felt tense and forced as we stood amidst the busy street. Our eyes refused to meet and the anger from last night burned dully in the back of my mind but I mentally stamped out the last of those flames.

I tried to not act as concerned as I felt. "Is he alright?"

"I'm not sure, I think he has a cold," Hikaru sighed dejectedly. "I had wanted to stay behind and take care of him, but he insisted that I show you a good time, like he'd promised."

"Oh..." So he thinks that either of them will do then, does he really think that lowly of me? At least it's not a major illness he's came down with. I could make him some soup when I got back.

After a few moments of silence, Hikaru began to kick at the random pebbles that littered the street. He cleared his throat and finally looked at me, "So, what do you want to do?"

"Well, Kaoru didn't say what he had planned, so I dont have anything in mind."

With a heavy sigh, he grumbled under his breath, "Greaaaat."

"There's no need to get grumpy with me," I snapped back, but I regretted it instantly. I didn't want to fight with him regardless of how angry I had been with him the night before.

We squared off, tension building at exponential rates as the frustration radiated between us both. "Then just pick something to do!"

"What an idiot..." I groaned as I banged my head off the wall in a none-too-lightly manner.

Mori had a firm grasp of Tamaki's collar which was the only thing holding him back from going on the rampage. The Frenchman was beyond calming, "That's not how to treat a lady on a date! Why I oughta-"

"No, Tono!," rounding quickly on my senior with stern eyes, I tried to stand my ground and make them all understand. "Don't you dare go over there. He has to figure this out for himself."

For a moment he seemed to fall into deep thought, and that was all it took for Mori to let his guard down for a milisecond. Tamaki was off like a shot around the corner, arms waving and his voice carrying across the street drawing the attention of the majority of the passers-by.

"You've got to be fucking kidding me."

The all too familar voice of Tamaki caught my attention and I peeked around Hikaru to watch as the blonde boy was yanked around a corner out of our line of sight. My eyes narrowed, I marched past Hikaru who watched on in confusion.

"Senpai!" I called out before rounding the corner and halting the retreating group of boys. Tamaki froze as soon as he heard my voice and slowly turned his head to nervously glance over his shoulder.

"Oh, uh, hey there Haruhi! Daddy wanted to make sure the bad bad Hitachiin didn't do anything untoward his innocent daughter..."His voice trailed off and we fell into silence. I eyed each of the hosts in turn, with a cold glare until my eyes rested on Kaoru as he shuffled uncomfortably on the spot.

My body began moving towards the redhead before I had fully comprehended what I was doing. "What the hell is going on, Kaoru? I thought you were ill, you had me worried!"

His hands waved defensively in front of him, as though that would magically calm me. "Okay, it was a little white lie. I didn't think you would worry about me!"

"Of course I'd worry about you! Then sending Hikaru in your place? The two of you aren't interchangeable you know."

"Haruhi..."

"Don't ask a girl on a date then send your brother in your place," I snapped. As the words escaped me, the anger began to fade into exasperation. "Forget it, I'm going back to Misuzu's."

Spinning on my heel, I began marching away from the group and through the gossiping onlookers. Hikaru didn't stop me at the corner, despite the fact that he reached out to grab me by the arm. He must have thought better of it. The fabric of my dress fluttered annoyingly at my knees as the wind picked up and my speed increased. It was stupid of me to think that today could have went anything other than terribly. A stray tear trickled down my cheek but I refused to acknowledge it's presence as I continued down the road.

Silence reigned.

I slowly turned to look over the other hosts who were still stationary for some unknown reason. My eyes finally came to rest on our ring leader, scrutinising him openly with unrestrained suspicion. "Aren't you going to go after her?"

"I want to, but..." His quiet response was cut off by Kyoya clearing his throat. The subtle interruptance caught the attention of all of us, and we looked hopefully to the bespectacled boy for guidance.

"It appears that Tamaki's presence will not be greatly appreciated at this moment in time."

The vague response was frustrating. "Then Honey-senpai-"

"No, Kaoru," Hikaru finally made his way over to stand amongst the group. "They mean that you need to go after her."

The others watched as my mind whirled with the internal conflict. Before I had really came to a conclusion on everything that had just happened, I was dashing off in the direction that Haruhi had stormed off in just minutes prior.


End file.
